Trip Caps a String of Successes, Gives the President a 'Hard Pivot' from Health Care to Foreign and Domestic Issues

BY PETER SPIEGEL AND JONATHAN WEISMAN

WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama's unannounced trip to Afghanistan capped the most eventful week of his presidency, a week that saw victory on his signature domestic initiative, completion of a nuclear-arms accord with Russia and a night-time rally with thousands of cheering troops.

It also signaled that after a year mired in health-care politics, Mr. Obama hopes to turn to the multiplicity of issues—at home and abroad—that have languished in the shadows of his one huge domestic fight. Those include the war in Afghanistan, confronting Iran over its nuclear weapons, job creation and senior-level appointments.